Children are portraying a great sense of maturity and focus regarding a situation that is out of their control. It makes me think how children need to understand, both intellectually and emotionally, what’s going on whether we grown-ups can assist them in that process or not…

These little kids will grow up one day. And you think they will have no hatred for Israelis and what they are doing to their country today?Is this how the US and Israeli hopes to stop terrorism? If so, then they will fail to do so. You cannot respond to terrorism by terrorism.

When speaking of war, images such as this are a rarity. The other photographs on this site are more the tone that people are used to seeing…destruction, death, and the will of people to survive. All of these are completely motivating, but not as subtle or ultimately saddening as this image. At first glance, one might think this photograph is simply out of place, but with further inquiry it is becomes apparent that it holds a tremendous amount of relevance, not only on the tragedy of the war but to the future of the children effected by it. One child is helping the others make sense of what is happening around them. He has drawn out his city, the fighter planes, and the destruction. He has neatly labeled the weapons that are being used against them, such as the Raad 2. You can sense the confusion; you can see the attention and need to have it explained. You feel as if you are sitting among them, making the image real. The issues become tangible to viewers and make it much more relatable as an image. While most pictures focus on the current hate that is caused by war, like images of the torture of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers, this image is different and leaves the question of hate open. One has to hope, as others have commented here, that these children might “show the grown ups how to live in peace.” Thank you for a different and moving photo!